Chapters (62)
- Cover
- Half Title Page
- Books by Katie Powner
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Ads
- Back Cover
“Wherever you want.” Mitch stepped aside and smiled. “It’s your room now.”
FIFTY
When did Rand get to be so old? I don’t understand. Sometimes he puts his hand on my hand and I don’t believe it belongs to him, with its spots and wrinkles. I wonder where my husband went. But then I see his eyes and remember. He’s always here.
Mitch is here, too. In and out of this place all the time like he has many important things to do. I’m sure he does. I wonder what Caroline would say if she could see him buzzing around like a worker bee.
Caroline is gone.
Rand tells me sometimes.
This is Mitch’s house, I suppose. I don’t know how I ended up here, but there are two chairs on the back deck where Rand and I can sit and watch the mountains. A short, round lady with wild hair was here earlier, and she brought banana bread. She was nice.
Sometimes when I’m watching the mountains in the evening, a light appears, just for a minute, and I find myself reaching into my pocket for something, but nothing’s there. Shadows dance across my mind like clouds across the sky, and I can’t always figure out what the sun is revealing before it’s cast in shadow again. Cast in shadow and gone. I never know if the sun will reveal it again or if it will remain in darkness forever.
I walk through the house and see a cat. It meows at me and tangles itself in my legs, almost knocking me over. I steady myself against the wall.
Rand is beside me, his hand on my elbow. “Are you okay?”
“When did we get a cat?”
“It’s Bea and Jeremy’s cat, remember?”
“Beatrice.”
“Yes.”
“But she’s not here.”
Rand’s eyes are deep and wild as Alder Gulch. “She and Jeremy moved to Ponderosa, remember? They’ve got their own place now. They’re going to have a baby.”
Baby. My hand slides into my pocket. I had a baby. The shadows shift and darkness covers him. Where is he?
I look down at the cat.
Where is who?
Rand leads me to a kitchen table.
This must be Mitch’s house.
Caroline is gone.
“Is Mitch home?”
Rand pulls out a chair for me. “Not yet.”
After I sit, Rand sits, too. He’s never in a hurry. Never has more important places to be. No matter how many shadows form, I know that if a storm comes, he’ll be right here next to me. Holding my hand. Peering through the shadows to find me, wherever I might go.
FIFTY-ONE
When Mitch got home from work, Frank’s Suburban was there. It was the end of the first week of the schedule Marge had put together. Of course, Frank had signed up for the first Friday available.